More reason for outrage

By The Daily Progress

Published: October 27, 2008

We’ve come down hard on agencies for failing to do their jobs — such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, most recently for failing to admit the dangers of formaldehyde in trailers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for civil rights violations and ineptitude in following up on those violations.

Here’s yet another debacle — and this one will blow your mind.

The U.S. Interior Department, investigating its own employees in Denver, found that staffers at the office in charge of collecting royalties from oil companies were having drug and sex parties with the very people they were supposed to be regulating. Employees also accepted vacations and expensive gifts from energy company representatives.

Meanwhile, the head of the royalty office had a side job working for a company that marketed its services to energy companies. His success at that job clearly depended on winning the companies’ approval — a clear conflict of interest for someone who is supposed to be making sure that U.S. taxpayers get their deserved due from oil leases.

The Denver office issues offshore drilling permits to private companies and collects royalties for the government.

The investigation found that nearly a third of the Denver staff received gifts from companies, such as Shell, Chevron and Hess, between 2002 and 2006. Gifts included vacations and golf outings.

Then there were the parties where agency staff drank alcohol, smoked grass and snorted cocaine, and the sexual liaisons between staff and industry representatives.

As a taxpayer — once you’ve gotten over your shock — this ought to make you boiling mad.

Here’s something else to shock you: The two-year internal investigation cost $5.3 million of your money.